The Creative Conversations with Patrice Francis - Part Two

The Creativity Conversations continue with Patrice Francis in Part Two of the interview.

How do you feel about the way your creativity is being experienced by others, how do you react to criticism or praise?

I feel honored any time someone engages with something I have written.

I create for people, but that is not my primary motivation.

I create for myself first, and allow others to share my experience.

I am grateful for praise. I try not to practise false humility. A simple, “thank you,” is where I leave it.

Responding to criticism has been a journey, but I’ve gotten better at it.

My strongest reaction happened about ten years ago with a reading of my play, The Women of Duncombe's Well. I felt deeply connected to the story, but the reading didn’t go well. The cast had many questions and felt the work was not well developed.

I didn’t go back to it for years. I probably felt traumatized by the experience. I eventually tried rewiring the script, but it never went anywhere.

It’s the only time I recall where criticism led me to shut down and not to keep creating.

At the first reading of A Longing Fulfilled, I got both positive feedback and criticism. I took the suggestions and developed a second draft that was well received.

I started out writing corporate plays, a unique niche. I worked with a trainer who used the performing arts to get messages across. The process involved sitting at a table with him and a team, and presenting a script. They critiqued the work and told me what to change. That didn’t bother me at all, because I love the process of creating.

Critiques open an opportunity to go back.

When it comes to the final product, I allow people their opinions. Opinions do not affect the joy I felt creating the work.

The only thing that would bother me is creating something that caused hurt for somebody. That is never my intention.

I believe creative works are open to interpretation. People can gather what they will from the work.

Do you ever create hidden meanings or messages in your work? Explain.

I don’t intentionally do so, but people seem to extract them nonetheless.

In 2014 I wrote the play, A Longing Fulfilled, in which you played a role. I felt it was a surface-level play in many ways.

The director, Erin McKinney, began to see so much hidden meaning in the words. I often told her that was not my intention.

I do believe in the message of light. I won’t write something I don’t believe in. A character may be in conflict with the message,but darkness is never an overall tone of what I write.

I write what I hear. I hear conversations. The audience takes from it what they need to hear. A director may get frustrated with me as a writer because there are questions of analysis that I cannot answer.

Now that I am writing a book, I’m paying more attention to character analysis.

The truth is, I don’t spend a lot of time trying to figure out who is who..I write what I hear.

I feel I am not nearly as deep as others think I am.

Do you see yourself in your work. Do you think others see you in your work?

I see myself more in the life themes that I walk with than the characters I write about.

I believe people are gifted. I believe in hope. I believe in the redemptive nature of human beings and their connection to one another.

Many characters in my stories and plays are not much like me, but there is always one with a belief system close to mine, and that is by design.

I think other people definitely see themselves in the work. I hope they do. I want them to take something revelatory from our engagement together in the story.

Do you have periods of great creativity or does creativity flow continuously?

I have moments of pronounced creativity--and they are constantly flowing.

I have become more intentional about living an inspired life.

What do I mean by that?

I have recently found myself recalling pleasurable experiences. Often I found there were long periods of time when I didn’t stop working to enjoy the beach, see a movie, meet up with a friend, or take in a majestic lake view.

I decided to stop procrastinating about things that bring me joy.

Now I watch a movie before I write, rather than seeing the film as a reward for work. I play before I produce.

This is not how the world teaches us to be, but I have found I have to make sure I give myself time for play.

Continual work creates dullness. I now have more days of continuous creativity because I am choosing an inspired life.

I can find creativity even in times when I am physically unwell, because I am at rest.

What do you do when you experience a creative block?

Sometimes I come to an impasse. Sometimes I panic.

I don’t experience blocks with playwriting. If I don’t hear it, I usually don’t write it. Plays seem to have a built-in rhythm for me. Some days I do not hear any dialogue.

Books have a different process. They take longer to write. At times I am not sure where to go with the story, and panic if I have a self-imposed deadline.

What works for me is story collecting. I go on a drive, just to observe different people and things. I watch an inspiring movie. Sometimes I watch “Jeopardy,” because it has so many ideas. When I hear names of unknown people or unfamiliar literature, I go and research it. That gets me going.

What kind of impact do you hope to achieve with your creative efforts?

I’d like to inspire people to live a life of meaning and intention. I’d like to inspire people to live a strengths-based life, which is a life lived from a place of what you do well. I want people to embrace their intrinsic gifts. I want to inspire freedom. I want people to wake up to the best part of themselves.

I want them to read something that I wrote and find hope.

I’m writing a play now called, A Spider in Solitaire. The story is about a relay team of young men.

Solitaire is a place that I have created, a place we all know. No one expects anything good from this place, because it's riddled with poverty, crime, poor decisions, depressed people.

I’m writing this story because I want young people to understand that their success and triumph do not depend on a locale. Destiny relates to who you are, not where you come from. I want them to recognise the systems created to keep people down. I want them to know that there is hope for any one. Each of us was created and lit with something amazing.

We are meant to give to the world around us. Everyone has value. That is what I want people to get when they experience my work. I want to inspire hope.

Stay tuned for the third and final part of the interview with Patrice Francis.